1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to accessories for mailboxes and more particularly, to a removable mailbox light which can be quickly and easily removably installed on a mailbox to facilitate illuminating and viewing the interior of the mailbox when the mailbox door is opened. In a preferred embodiment, the removable mailbox light includes an elongated housing having a beveled, concave or dish-shaped reflection surface at the front end thereof and a light bulb extending from the housing adjacent to the reflection surface. An attachment clip is provided on the housing to facilitate removable attachment of the housing to the mailbox wall, with the housing disposed inside the mailbox interior. A first battery and a second battery in the housing are both provided in electrical contact with the light bulb, and an activation clip pivotally mounted in the rear end of the housing is disposed in electrical contact with the first battery through a contact spring. When closed, the mailbox door presses the activation clip against the housing and the activation clip disengages the second battery, breaking electrical contact between the batteries in the housing such that the light bulb extinguished. Upon opening of the mailbox door, the contact spring in the housing urges the activation clip into an extended configuration from the housing and into electrical contact with the second battery, such that the electrical circuit is completed and the light bulb is energized, illuminating the mailbox interior.
While mail is typically delivered during daylight hours in the United States, persons may retrieve mail from their mailboxes in the late evening, during hours of darkness. Consequently, it is frequently necessary to hand-feel the dark mailbox interior to ensure that all the delivered mail has been retrieved from the mailbox. This, however, has limitations since important mail-delivered notices such as those appearing on flat postcards or sheets of paper can evade detection by feel and thus, inadvertently remain in the mailbox. Moreover, many persons are reluctant to thrust their hands into dark mailboxes for fear of striking sharp objects or unwittingly encountering spiders or insects.
Mailbox lights of various design are known in the art for illuminating the dark interior of a mailbox. U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,012, dated Mar. 3, 1987, to Pittman, describes an xe2x80x9cInterior Light for U.S. Mailboxxe2x80x9d, characterized by an incandescent lamp depending from the top of the mailbox, which lamp is wired to a dry cell battery contained in an insulated case mounted beneath the bottom of the mailbox and to a push button on-off switch mounted on the latch at the front end of the mailbox. When the mailbox door is closed, the push button on-off switch is depressed and maintains the circuit between the battery and the extinguished lamp in an open configuration. When the mailbox door is opened, the push button on-off switch is extended and closes the circuit, thereby energizing the lamp.
A xe2x80x9cSelf-Contained Lighting Apparatusxe2x80x9d is detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,915, dated Jul. 5, 1988, to Rogers. The apparatus is characterized by a lighting fixture with self-contained batteries and a mercury switch for attachment to the interior surface of a mailbox door and illuminating the mailbox interior when the mailbox door is opened. The mercury switch is manually adjustable about a lateral axis such that the fixture may be used on either front-opening or top-tilting doors.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,713, dated Nov. 2, 1999, to Brothers, discloses an xe2x80x9cInterior Mailbox Lightxe2x80x9d, characterized by a housing adapted to be affixed to the interior of a mailbox and an illumination source provided in the housing; a mount for affixing the the housing to the mailbox; a magnetic switch for lighting the illumination source, the switch operating in an xe2x80x9cofxe2x80x9d state and an xe2x80x9conxe2x80x9d state; and a magnet affixed to the door, which magnet activates the magnetic switch to light the illumination source when the mailbox door is opened, and inactivates the magnetic switch to extinguish the illumination source when the mailbox door is closed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,084, dated Mar. 7, 2000, to Burke, describes a xe2x80x9cRetrofittable Mailbox Light Systemxe2x80x9d, including a housing having a releasable coupling mechanism for mounting the housing on a mailbox, with a front face of the housing remaining flush with the open front of the mailbox A lamp is mounted to the housing for illuminating the interior space of the mailbox, and a battery is positioned in an interior space of the housing. A momentary switch mounted to the housing and connected between the lamp and the battery is adapted for supplying the lamp with power only upon the release of the switch when the lid of the mailbox is opened.
A xe2x80x9cLighting System for Mailboxxe2x80x9d is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,548, dated Aug. 15, 2000, to Mantle, et al. The Mantle lighting system includes a light source and battery positioned in the interior of a mailbox. A light sensor is capable of sensing the level of ambient light in the mailbox, and an electromagnetic sensor permits current from the power source to be transmitted to the light sensor upon opening the mailbox door. If the level of ambient light sensed by the light sensor is below a predetermined level the light source is energized to illuminate the mailbox interior. Current to the light sensor and light source is interrupted upon closing the mailbox door.
An object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved mailbox light for quick, easy and removable attachment to a mailbox.
Another object of this invention is to provide a removable mailbox light which is disposable and simple in construction.
Another object of this invention is to provide a removable mailbox light which can be quickly and easily removably installed on a mailbox to facilitate illuminating and viewing the contents of the mailbox in a dark environment when the mailbox door is opened.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a mailbox light which is capable of quick, easy and removable attachment to post-mounted type mailboxes or porch-type mailboxes for illuminating the mailbox interior upon opening of the mailbox.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a new and improved removable mailbox light which is capable of substantially uniformly illuminating the entire interior of a mailbox.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a mailbox light characterized by a housing having an attachment clip for removably attaching the housing to a mailbox, with the housing disposed in the mailbox interior; a battery provided in the housing; a light bulb extending from the front end of the housing in electrical contact with one terminal of the battery; and an activation clip provided in the rear end of the housing for reversibly establishing electrical contact between the light bulb and the other terminal of the battery, wherein the activation clip is pressed against the housing and breaks electrical contact between the battery and the light bulb to extinguish the light bulb when the mailbox door is closed, and upon opening of the mailbox door the activation clip extends away from the housing and establishes electrical contact between the battery and the light bulb to energize the light bulb and illuminate the mailbox interior.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a removable mailbox light which can be quickly, easily and removably attached to a mailbox for illuminating the mailbox interior when the mailbox door is opened, which removable mailbox light is characterized by a housing fitted with an attachment clip for removably attaching the housing to the wall of the mailbox, with the housing disposed in the mailbox interior; a pair of batteries provided in the housing; a light bulb extending from the front end of the housing in electrical contact with the batteries and adjacent to a beveled, concave or dish-shaped reflection surface of the housing; an activation clip provided at the rear end of the housing, which activation clip is pressed against the housing to break electrical contact between the batteries and extinguish the light bulb when the mailbox door is closed, and which activation clip assumes an extended configuration from the housing and establishes electrical contact between the batteries to energize the light bulb and illuminate the mailbox interior upon opening of the mailbox door.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved removable mailbox light for quick, easy and removable attachment to mailboxes of various design, which removable mailbox light is characterized by an elongated housing; an attachment clip provided on the housing for removably attaching the housing to the wall of the mailbox with the housing disposed in the mailbox interior; a light bulb extending from the front end of the housing adjacent to a beveled, concave or dish-shaped reflection surface of the housing; a first battery and a second battery provided in the housing in electrical contact with the light bulb; a contact spring provided in the housing in electrical contact with the first battery; and an activation clip pivotally mounted in the rear end of the housing and engaging the contact spring for reversibly establishing electrical contact between the first battery and the second battery, wherein the activation clip is pressed against the housing against the bias of the contact spring and disengages the second battery to break electrical contact between the first battery and the second battery and extinguish the light bulb when the mailbox door is closed, and the contact spring urges the activation clip into contact with the second battery to establish electrical contact between the first battery and the second battery and energize the light bulb, upon opening of the mailbox door.
These and other objects of the invention are provided in a new and improved removable mailbox light which can be quickly, easily and removably attached to a mailbox for illuminating and viewing the mailbox interior when the mailbox door is opened. In a preferred embodiment, the removable mailbox light is characterized by a housing fitted with an attachment clip for removably attaching the mailbox light to the mailbox, with the housing disposed in the mailbox interior. The housing contains a pair of batteries, and a light bulb extending from the front end of the housing adjacent to a beveled, concave or dish-shaped reflection surface is provided in electrical contact with the batteries. When the mailbox door is closed, a spring-loaded activation clip at the rear end of the housing is pressed against the housing and breaks electrical contact between the batteries to extinguish the light bulb. Upon opening of the mailbox door, the activation clip assumes an extended configuration and establishes electrical contact between the batteries to energize the light bulb and illuminate the mailbox interior.